A New Nation
by knaka148
Summary: Arriving a hundred years after the era of the Thirteen Heroes, the remains of a powerful guild make their mark on the new world. Minor changes now shall become major changes in the future. How will the world change with this new addition?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello,**

 **So, I had a busy past few months. For some reason I've had another idea pop into my head and I've decided to try write it.**

 **I've been reading a few empire/kingdom building stories on this site, so I decided to try my hand at it. I can't guarantee that this story will be good, but I'd like to try it.**

 **For reference, this will be set in the same world as Overlord, but I've decided to start 100 years before canon to avoid being constrained to events in the novel. That being said, I have a bit of setup to do, so you won't see outside of the guild until about chapter 4 or so. Also, the first few chapters will have to be a little generic for setup.**

 **In case anyone is wondering, this follows mentioned canon up to this point, but will deviate from there. Since not much is mentioned, I can make a lot of stuff up. Also, since Ainz arrives 100 years in the future from this point they will not be involved in this story. If I ever do get to that point, I'll decide what to do then.**

 **Just to let you know, this probably will not be for everyone. As always, I do not own Overlord and anything mentioned in standard disclaimers.  
**

XXX

Tonight, at midnight, the servers of YDDGRASIL will shut down forever.

Many players would visit the game on the last day, but only a few would stay until the end.

A great adventure awaits those who do not leave. Not all wish to go on this adventure, or even wish to do so.

This time, however, a small group would enter a new world and make their mark on it.

XXX

Deep in the world of Alfheim, a group of five players sat in a room shaped like an auditorium. These were the only five players in the guild 'Celestial Wardens' who were still online. It was less than an hour until the servers shut down and the guild had decided to have everyone gather one last time in this world. Their end of YDDGRASIL party had just ended a short time ago, and all of the other members had logged off for various reasons. This left just the five of them.

The first player was Kazeba, an undead overlord specializing in water/ice and lightning type damage based magic.

The second player was Saito, a male human guardian with a defensive build who had obtained the 'World Guardian' class, effectively making him a stone wall type character.

The third player was Reiko111, a female human priestess with a support build and alchemist classes.

The fourth player was PrometheusStar, a male elf with a surprisingly versatile mage build.

The last player was (A/N the name is actually 7 at symbols, the kind used in email addresses, but FF doesn't take them), a lizardman with a knight build, with almost no non-battle abilities. Most people just called him A to make things simple.

These five players were in the guildhall of the Celestial Wardens, talking about their past adventures.

XXX

Celestial Wardens was a guild that was always ranked in the top 100 guilds after obtaining their guild base, but never in the top 50. Many theories were developed among the members on why that was so, even when they were obviously stronger than some of the higher ranked guilds, but no one could come up with a convincing answer. Eventually, they just considered it a whim of the 'shitty devs' that the ranking system was never explained. Despite this, the Celestial Wardens were powerful. They possessed three World Class items, the Cauldron of Abundance, the Mythic Gem, and the Yata Mirror. The Cauldron of Abundance allowed its owner to generate any primary crafting material regardless of rarity up to a certain amount, the Mythic Gem amplified the abilities of certain items, and the Yata Mirror was an unbreakable shield shaped mirror that can reflect anything, even the ultimate attack of a world boss.

The Celestial Wardens had been formed during the peak of YDDGRASIL's popularity. They had obtained the Cauldron of Abundance and the Mythic Gem fairly quickly, but had only obtained the Yata Mirror in the past year. There were 54 total members in the Celestial Wardens, all of whom had extremely powerful equipment, built from materials obtained with the Cauldron of Abundance and crafted by members with rare and powerful crafting classes.

The guildbase of the Celestial Wardens was called the Starcloak Cape. It was a powerful and large base with 2800 NPC levels to use. What made it desirable to the Celestial Wardens was the fact that the entrance to the base was only accessible 25 percent of the time on average. The exact time the entrance was accessible was seemingly random. Some players thought it was based upon the day of the month, the phases of the moon, or some other pattern, but once again no one could figure it out. Without using the entrance, the only way into Starcloak Cape was a guild ring. To counter this advantage, Starcloak Cape had a high base upkeep cost. Fortunately, with the Cauldron of Abundance, this was not a problem for the Celestial Wardens. They even had enough materials to build optional facilities in Starcloak Cape that allowed it to counter the upkeep cost and be self sufficient and even generate a small surplus of resources. With all of the improvements in Starcloak Cape, it was even more desirable than some of the level 3000 guildbases.

XXX

The five players continued taking for a few more minutes before a announced he had to leave and logged off after saying his farewells. The four that were left continued reminiscing for a while until Kazeba suggested that they go to the throne room for the final countdown until the servers shut down.

"Ehhh, why should we?" Reiko111 complained.

"Oh, come on, don't you want to go out in style" retorted Kazeba.

"Whatever you say, Mr. Bones. Although, if we're going out in style, should we get the guild weapon? We might as well use it." Saito commented.

"Eh, there's no point. You're the only one of us who can wield it, Saito-san, and even you can't use it well. Besides, we're almost out of time." replied Kazeba.

The guild weapon, the Celestial Sword, like almost all guild weapons, was extremely powerful, but it was created for the guildmaster of the Celestial Wardens. Despite some other members being able to use it, they would be unable to bring out its full power.

After a bit of talking, the four players went to the throne room. Entering the gigantic room through the large main doors, the group gathered by the fancy chair at the end, with one of their NPCs, a beautiful woman named Sara, standing nest to the throne. After a moment, Reiko111 spoke.

"Hey, why are we here again?"

"Because we want to go out in style, and what better way than in a throne room?" replied Kazeba.

"But there isn't anything in here. It's just a room with a chair!. I don't even know why we made this room in the first place!"

Reiko111 was right. The entire 'throne room' was a decoy. It was originally built for any attacker that penetrated this far. They would see a fancy throne, destroy it and everything in the room, and think they had conquered the base. Even the sword that hung over the throne was a replica. The real guild weapon was further in the base.

"Well, you did agree to come along." noted PrometheusStar.

"It's not like I had anything better to do" replied Reiko111.

"Oh, come on, guys, we've got less than a minute left, lets make the most of it. I don't know if I'm going to be seeing you guys in any other"

Abruptly, Kazeba disappeared in the middle of speaking. The three remaining players stared at the spot the skeleton was a moment ago for a second before Saito spoke.

"Did he just DC again?"

"Looks like it." replied PrometheusStar.

That was the fifth time Kazeba had disconnected that night. For some reason, his internet connection was poor, despite it rarely happening in this day and age. Every time prior to this, he had reconnected within 5 minutes complaining about his recent update.

"Well, looks like he isn't coming back in time. Like he said, we only have about 30 seconds left." Saito replied as he looked toward his system clock.

"Sucks to be him then, he really wanted to stay to the end." said PrometheusStar.

"Eh, he'll get over it, it's not that big a deal, and he did stay as long as he could" stated Reiko111.

The three stared at each other for several seconds. Eventually, Saito broke the silence.

"Well, it's been fun, guys, I'm glad to have met everyone here. Hopefully, we'll see each other again somewhere."

"Yeah, that'd be good." said Prometheusstar.

"Yeah, but how will we know that is us?" Asked Reiko111.

"It doesn't matter. We don't need to know that, Just meeting again is enough." Replied PromethusStar.

"Yeah, but"

"Oh, hush, you, just go with it." PrometheusStar cut off Reiko111.

"AH-CHOO!"

Suddenly, Saito sneezed. The other two looked at him.

"What?" deadpanned PrometheusStar.

"Ah, sorry, someone must be taking about me." replied Saito

"Huh?" asked Reiko111

"Dude, that's just a myth. You've been watching too many shows. Besides, I didn't know you could sneeze here."

"Uh, guys, don't panic" Reiko111 said suddenly.

"Why, what's wrong?" asked PrometheusStar.

"I can't see my HUD." replied Reiko111.

"What!" said PrometheusStar

"What!" added Saito.

"This is why I said not to panic" said Reiko111.

"Masters, is everything alright?" A vice said to the three players.

All three of them turned to the source of the voice.

"Can I do anything for you, my masters?" Said Sara.

The three players slowly looked back at each other, all three of them sensing that something major had happened.

XXX

 **Please give constructive criticism, but remember so far this is just a setup.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 here. More setup, but at least I managed to get this out relatively quickly.**

XXX

"Can I do anything for you, my masters?" Said Sara.

The three players stared at each other for a second. PrometheusStar was the first one to break the silence.

"Dammit, I need to stop taking so much overtime."

"Huh?" Both Saito and Reiko111 said in unison.

"I could've sworn that NPC there just said something." replied PrometheusStar as he rubbed his head.

Another silence set upon the group. After a few seconds, Sara spoke again.

"Is there a problem, masters Saito, PrometheusStar, and Reiko111?"

Saito closed his eyes for a second before replying.

"Nope, nope, I'm not doing this. This isn't happening."

The other two players stared as Saito began shaking his head. After watching for a few seconds, Reiko111 spoke up.

"Ok, this raises a lot of questions. First of all, who are you?" Reiko asked Sara.

"I am you humble servant Sara, lady Reiko111. As the steward of Starcloak Cape, I live to serve you and the other masters." Replied Sara.

"This isn't happening, Lalalala." helpfully added Saito.

Reiko111 shot an annoyed look at Saito before speaking again.

"Alright, that just raises more questions, but first, I have to ask, why do you call me Reiko-one-one-one?"

"That is your name, is it not, master?" replied Sara.

"I'm going to wake up any minute~." Saito sung.

"Will you stop that." Reiko111 snapped at Saito.

"Yeah, what's your problem, man?" added PrometheusStar.

"Nothing, nothing's the problem. It's impossible for this to happen. I must be dreaming." said Saito.

"Oh, and what is this nothing?" asked PrometheusStar.

"I've just been watching too many Isekai shows lately. It's impossible that we really got sent to another world." said Saito.

"Uh, what is Isekai?" asked Reiko111.

"It's a story genre about being transported to a new world. Now that I think about it, it does seem to fit this situation." answered PrometheusStar.

"Ah, I see, so then, what does that mean? What should we do?" replied Reiko111.

"I have no clue." said PrometheusStar dejectedly.

"Lalalala" helpfully added Saito again.

Reiko111 sighed, feeling a headache coming. Deciding to take control, she addressed Saito.

"Will you snap out of it, Saito. We need to figure out what's going on. Acting like an idiot isn't helping."

Saito paused at this and stared at Reiko111 for a moment. After blinking a few times, he spoke.

"Eh, I guess it can't hurt to play along. Sure, what do you need?"

"Well, I guess that will do for now." said Reiko111, as she gave silent thanks that Saito wasn't making anymore annoying noises.

"Alright, now that that's settled, let's address the elephant in the room. What the hell just happened?" asked PromethusStar.

"I have no idea. Hey, do you know what happened, Sara?" Reiko111 said.

"I do not know what you mean, Lady Reiko111, did something happen?" said Sara.

"OK, this is getting annoying. Just call me Reiko." replied Reiko.

"As you wish, lady Reiko. Shall I tell the other servants to do so as well?" replied Sara.

"Other servants? Ah, yeah, you're not the only one here. If what I think happened, happened, then our entire base is like this. Yes, please do so Sara. Also, have everyone call me Takehara as well." said PrometheusStar/Takehara.

"Very well, master Takehara." replied Sara.

"Oh, is that your real name?" asked Reiko.

"Yeah, it is. What's your real name?" replied Takehara.

"Its Reina, but just call me Reiko for now. How about you, Saito?" asked Reiko.

"Well, not that it matters, but my name is Sameda Ito. I just combined it into Saito." said Saito nonchalantly.

"Clever" said Takehara.

At this moment, a young girl wearing a maid outfit entered the room and approached the group.

"Pardon me, masters, but I have a message from guardian Skywatch." the maid said.

"Wait who are you?" asked Reiko.

Reiko hadn't logged on for over a year, but she was familiar with most of the guild NPCs. Despite this, she didn't recognize the maid before her.

"Pardon me, lady Reiko111, my name is Hazuki, I was created by master WhiteSwordLight and assigned to clean the rooms of Starcloak Cape." Hazuki said.

"Hazuki, please refer to lady Reiko111 as Reiko and master PrometheusStar as Takehara." said Sara.

"Yes, lady Sara."

Takehara suddenly snapped his fingers and spoke.

"Now I remember. WhiteSwordLight did say he was going to use those last 20 levels we had for something. I guess he chose maids. How unoriginal."

"OK, sure, why not' Anyway, did you have something to tell us, Hazuki?" said Reiko.

"Yes, lady Reiko, Guardian Skywatch claims that the area around Starcloak Cape has changed. He noticed that the night sky from the upper garden changed and has scouted out several kilometers away with magic to confirm this." said Hazuki.

Starcloak Cape had been expanded several times by the Celestial Wardens. The upper garden was a large agricultural area built into the topmost area of the guildbase. It greatly reduced the upkeep cost of the base and produced various production materials. Due to the unique nature of Starcloak Cape, the garden was concealed naturally with magic, letting light and sound in but not out, allowing one to look out from the garden. The upper garden, along with the central aquaculture zone and the lower mines allowed Starcloak cape to become self sufficient in YDDGRASIL. Skywatch was a level 100 NPC specialized in various non-combat skills such as information gathering and alchemy. He was a angel race seraph with the equivalent of a celestial mage build. It was very hard to deceive his skills.

"Alright, we need to get more information. Sara, summon a few shadow scouts from the library and lead an expedition to scout the surrounding area. If you find any sentient life, avoid them and return to the cape immediately to inform us. Hazuki, tell the guards to raise security to the maximum level and prioritize capturing any intruders." Takehara said.

"Yes master Takehara." Sara said.

Reiko watched Sara and Hazuki bow and leave the room before speaking.

"Hey, is she going to be able to do that? NPCs shouldn't be able to summon mercenary monsters."

"Yeah, they shouldn't be able to leave the base or follow complex instructions either, but we're going to find out." replied Takehara.

"Well, as interesting as this is, I'm going to milk this as along as I can. How about we get something to eat?" Saito interjected.

Despite wearing supreme biorhythm rings that among other things sustained their biological needs, both Reiko and Takehara thought this was a good idea.

"You know, Perhaps we should." said Takehara.

XXX

 **I really should try to continue my other stories, but for some reason, I can't do so with this idea in my head. Anyway, hope you enjoyed.**

 **Just to let everyone know, I try to write somewhat short chapters that I can post frequently instead of taking a long time to write a single big one.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Not much to say here. Just a little backstory and planning before we get to the new world next chapter.**

XXX

"Uh, guys, I'm starting to think this isn't a dream." Saito addressed the other two players in the room.

After they left the throne room, the three players went to the cafeteria and ordered several dishes from the head chef. After experiencing the taste of genuine food (and stuffing their faces), they retreated to the guild conference room. Along the way, the various NPCs treated them as royalty. Sara had given them a brief report of the surrounding area and they had sent her back to do further scouting.

The conference room was quite large, as it was designed to hold the entire guild, but all three players unanimously decided to meet there. After about an hour experimenting, Saito finally was starting to take things seriously.

"Huh, really? What was your first clue?" quipped Takehara.

"Not helping, Take. Now, since everyone is here, why don't we set a few priorities for ourselves." said Reiko.

"Hey, when did we decide you should be the leader?" asked Takehara.

"Well someone needs to take charge here and I don't see you doing it. Have either of you given any serious thought to our situation?" retorted Reiko.

Both Takehara and Saito were silent. Seeing this as confirmation, Reiko continued.

"Alright then, in that case, I propose for the foreseeable future we decide things by majority vote, is that alright?"

"Yeah, that sounds like the best course for us in this situation," said Saito.

"Eh, I can't think of anything better." added Takehara.

Prior to this, whenever the Celestial Wardens formed groups, they had appointed a group leader that would make all of the important group decisions to avoid time debating. This group leader could be changed whenever they disbanded the group or when there was nothing important happening, so in practice only a few popular people were in this position.

"As an addedum to that, I propose that whatever happens, we stick together and support each other, agreed?" said Reiko.

"Agreed" said Saito.

"Makes sense, sure. On that note, what should we do? Assuming we did get transported to another world, are either of you planning to try to return to our old one?" asked Takehara.

"Huh?" asked Reiko.

"I don't know about you two, but personally, I'd like to stay in a world like this." Takehara said as he leaned back into a chair. "From what I've seen, the environment is clean and unspoiled, we're treated as kings by the NPCs, and there is real natural food here. I don' know about you, but I've had enough of that paste people call food back home to last the rest of my life. Personally, I just retired a few years ago and my children are all grown up and never visit me anymore. I'm not really leaving anything behind in that world. How about you two, do you have anything to go back to?"

Reiko and Saito were silent for a moment before Saito spoke.

"Well, not really. I just graduated from college last year and started a job, but it's not like it's anything special. I'm not particularly close to my family and I don't have many friends, so I'm not losing much either. Personally, I'd probably like to stay here as well, assuming this isn't a dream of course."

"Well, we'll handle that if it is true. How about you, Reiko?" replied Takehara.

Reiko looked down for a moment before she spoke.

"I'd really like to stay personally. I don't have anything back home. My mother died giving birth to me and my dad was killed in an industrial accident almost two years ago. I just graduated from school last year and I had to start working at an office job to afford a place to live. I don't have to worry about anything here, so I'd like to stay."

"Huh, that's quite harsh, sorry you had to go through that, Reiko. So, are we all in agreement that we'll stay in this world?" said Takehara.

Both Reiko and Saito agreed.

"Alright then. Next order of business. Now that we've decided to stay here, we should figure out how things work here. To that end, I propose that one of us explore the surrounding area personally after Sara reports back while the other two investigate things here in Starcloak Cape. For security reasons, we should leave the entrance guards at full strength, including the golems." stated Takehara.

"Alright, so who should go scout?" asked Reiko.

"I will. I have more experience, so I'll do it." said Takehara.

"No, that's a bad idea. You're a caster so you have poor survivability. It's better if I go." replied Saito.

"Are you sure? It could be dangerous." said Takehara.

"Yeah, we already confirmed that things mostly work as they did in YDDGRASIL, so it's best if I go. Just to be safe, I'm taking one of the eight healers and one of the reserve golems with me." said Saito.

The guild base Starcloak Cape had one main defense line at the main entrance. In the event that an opposing force managed to enter Starcloak Cape, they would have to fight through a room guarded by 6 level 100 NPCs specialized in either tanking or DPS. To complicate matters, there were 8 level 60 support NPCs that healed and buffed the defenders from a nearby safe zone that protected them until the room was cleared. If this room was lost, then the guild members would have to fight or the base would fall. The Celestial Wardens later added several powerful golems made from rare materials to supplement their defenses.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? The healers are meant to be used from a safe area. They won't last long in battle." Reiko said.

"That's why I'm bringing the golem. It will guard the healer and if things go bad, I'll have it stall to buy time." said Saito.

"Well, I guess it's better than losing you." Takehara said. "I guess that leaves me and Reiko here. Reiko, why don't you talk to the NPCs and see what you can learn while I go verify that our items still work as they should."

"Oh yeah, do the world items still work?" asked Saito

"That's what I'm going to find out. If the cauldron still works, then we don't have to worry about raw materials. I'm glad we made some crafters here, but you'll need to check up on them, Reiko." replied Takehara.

"Alright, sounds like a plan." said Reiko.

With that, the three players went to work on their tasks.

XXX

A far distance southwest of Starcloak Cape, a group of riders urged their mounts forward. The group was about a hundred strong, all armed in some manner. They did not have any unifying marks, but all carried the presence of a warrior.

The warrior leading the group noticed smoke rising in the distance in the direction they were headed. He ordered his men forward, hoping he'd make it in time.


	4. Chapter 4

Pervy, sorry, but I don't know how to use any of those rituals, I'm stuck with just coffee.

Typhoeus, I haven't stopped my other fics, I just can't write anything on them with this idea in my head.

XXX

Captain Gareth Longsplit frowned as he looked at the ruined village before him.

The mountainous regions northwest of Re-Ulovale by the Azzellisia Mountain Range had never been safe even in the best of times, but nowadays it seemed like the crown had no power here.

Gareth paused as his gaze went over one of the bandits responsible for sacking this village. He frowned as he remembered what he had seen when he arrrived here. Dozens of bandits were still ransacking the village, all of its former inhabitants dead. They were so busy sifting through the wreckage of the former village for anything of value that they didn't notice his riders until they were less than about 200 meters away. The bandits tried to flee, but the knights of the Re-Estize kingdom ran them down. Sadly, they were unable to save the village, but the bandits had been killed as his king had commanded.

'My King, heh. As if I'd truly consider that blob of dishonorable blubber my king.' thought Gareth.

Gareth had grown up and entered service in the royal knights under the rule of King Ranpossa II. King Ranpossa II was a wise king that led a period of prosperity throughout the Re-Estize Kingdom. The commoners and nobles both thrived under his reign, and he had groomed his eldest son, Ronald, to be a great ruler. Unfortunately, five years ago, Ronald was killed in combat after he personally led an army to subdue an incursion of demihumans from the southwest that threatened the city of Re-Lobell. This caused King Ranpossa II to fall into depression and die a year later. As a result of this chain of events, the eldest surviving son of King Ranpossa II, Dale, ascended to the throne of Re-Estize.

King Dale I was simply not a good king. He was not evil or malicious, but incompetent. He was originally the third son of King Ranpossa II, but with the death of the first son Ronald in battle and the second son Sandoro to illness over a decade ago, he had the strongest claim to the throne. King Dale I did very little ruling, preferring to spend his time hosting feasts, spending the wealth of the kingdom without care for the future. He was also somewhat paranoid, removing officials his father trusted and installing those who were loyal to him, regardless of competence.

The past few years had not been good for Re-Estize. The king had raised taxes to fund his lavish lifestyle and neglected investing. Roads were not maintained, trade caravans left to fend for themselves, and the people taxed into poverty. Even the city patrols and royal knights were being neglected. As it stood, the Re-Estize Kingdom was weaker than it had been in decades. They would be in real trouble of invasion if it wasn't for the fact that the Slaine Theocracy had adopted an isolationist policy and the Baharuth Empire was also dealing with internal issues.

Gareth sighed. It might have seemed benevolent for his king to send him here to protect the people, but Gareth suspected that it was just to get him out of the capitol. The other two captains from King Ranpossa II's era had been sent on similar assignments, leaving only the incompetent Captain Peter Beltaz, who was personally appointed by King Dale I, in charge of the defense of Re-Estize. Gareth feared for the future of the royal knights under King Dale I.

Gareth doubted that he could do much good here. He had less than a hundred men under his command right now and a large area to cover. Even considering that the Knights of Re-Estize had only a fraction of their former strength even several years ago, this force was quite small. There were probably thousands of bandits and thieves in this area, most driven to desperation in these hard times. Even the bandits that he had slain here were probably former farmers and villagers who had lost everything and turned to this life simply to survive. After all, they were not very skilled. Nevertheless, he had to do his duty. Those men may not have had a choice, but they were still bandits.

The world was not that kind.

XXX

Unbenknownst to Captain Gareth Longsplit, he was being observed. A far distance away, a figure with short blonde hair in fancy yet practical green clothes observed the group in the village. He had been observing for a while.

This figure had arrived several minutes before the village was attacked.

He watched as as the bandits approached.

He watched as the bandits attacked.

He watched as the knights killed the bandits.

And now, he continued watching.

As the knights mounted horses and moved away from the village, the figure gave a mental command to one of the shadow scouts under his command to observe the village remains while he began to follow the riders. Deciding to alert his superiors, he cast a spell as he began moving.

[Message]

XXX

"I understand." said Sara.

"What is it, Sara?" asked Saito.

"One of the Elven Scouts that I summoned have reported back." answered Sara.

"I see, what does he have to report?" asked Saito.

Saito had decided to meet with Sara to see what she had found before going further. He intended to use what she learned to decide where to scout. Starcloak Cape was now boarded by a body of water on the north, mountains to the east, and hilly land to the south and west.

Saito and the others had been surprised to find that Sara had summoned a few Elven Scouts to assist in her search. It was a good idea as shadow scouts weren't exactly smart. By using Elven Scouts as commanders they could search more efficiently. Saotp just hadn't thought that Sara would be able to take the initiative and do so without instructions.

He also had no idea what to do with the Elven Scouts after they were finished with this mission, but he'd handle that lager.

"Scout 2, Elrond, has discovered a village about twenty kilometers south of our current location It was attacked by bandits and destroyed while Elrond was observing. About fifteen minutes after the bandits destroyed the village, a group of armored riders arrived and killed the bandits." replied Sara.

"I see, and why didn't the scout intervene at any point?" asked Saito.

"I'm sorry, master Saito. I wasn't aware that you wished for us to intervene. I will issue new orders to the scouts." replied Sara.

"Ah, no, I didn't tell you to intervene, I just wanted to know why the scouts decided not to intervene. Don't change any orders yet." replied Saito.

"I see, lord Saito. I ordered the scouts to avoid all contact under the orders of lord Takehara." replied Sara.

"That may be so, but Takehara also ordered you to inform us as soon as you encountered sentient life. Is there a reason why you prioritized stealth in this situation? I'm not telling you that you were wrong, I just want to know why." said Saito.

"Yes, my lord. I ordered the scouts to hide until they judged that it would be safe to contact us. It seems that this was the ideal time to convey as much information as possible." answered Sara.

"I see, I guess that's acceptable. In the end, we shouldn't have given you such vague instructions. Anyway, as long as we're in this world, we will affect it whether we want to or not, so we're going to have to make contact with the people here eventually. I'll talk with the others to decide what we should do. Meanwhile, keep scouting the area and avoid contact." said Saito.

'Man, I don't know why, but I'm really getting into this.' thought Saito.

"I understand and obey, lord Saito." answered Sara.

'Man, that is going to take some getting used to. I've never been treated with this much respect, even when people were mocking me. It's even worse when I can tell she's being sincere. I should make it clear later that I'm not really a lord.' thought Saito.

Saito turned around and addressed the two figures behind him.

"Alright you two, we're heading back."

"Yes, master" one of the figures said.

One of the figures was a female priestess and the other was a golem. The priestess was Cana, one of the eight support healers from Starcloak Cape's main defense line. There were eight level 60 healers in the main defense line, one angel, one demon, one goblin, one fairy, one male dwarf, one female elf, one human male, and one human female. Saito just chose one at random to accompany him this time.

'Still, maybe we should have spent more time customizing the golems. They're powerful, yes, but they seem, well, unnatural."

The golem accompanying Satio stared forward, not moving and not even blinking. The golem never spoke, never acknowledged anything, but wordlessly obeyed. It honestly made Saito uncomfortable.

'Right, next time I'm leaving it behind no matter what.' thought Saito.

Saito pulled out a teleportation charm from his inventory and teleported with his team, choosing his destination the edge of Starlcoak Cape, leaving Sara to her mission.


	5. Chapter 5

5.

"Well, crap."

Saito looked around and saw only ocean with some land in the distance. He and his two companions had been transported to this location as a result of a teleporation misfire.

'Shouldn't have been cheap with the charms, it's not like I'll use them up.' thought Saito.

"Well, this is unfortunate. Hang on, you two. I'll get us back." Saito said to the other two.

Saito reached into his inventory and pulled out a greater teleportation charm and teleported them back to Starcloak Cape.

XXX

Later...

"I see, so you think we should meet with this group." said Reiko.

"Yes, after we observe a bit more, of course." replied Saito.

After arriving back at Starcloak Cape and cleaning up, Saito had called a meeting with the other two players. It wasn't long since their last meeting, but they all agreed they should share what they had learned.

"I figure that they're part of some kind of organized force here that we can negotiate with. Anyway, I think they're a better option than the bandits." said Saito.

"Do you know how strong they are?" asked Reiko.

"In terms of numbers, there's apparently several dozen of them, although it's possible the scouts saw only a portion of their force. In terms of individual strength, they're complete pushovers. From what we gathered, their elite are equivalent to level 10, with the strongest guy about level 20. Their equipment is apparently worse than even starter equipment somehow." answered Saito.

"Yeah, that matches up with what I found too. Skywatch scouted the nearby mountain range and found several creatures, but nothing above level 40, although there were several creatures with widely varying levels. It seems that's more evidence for the alternate world theory." said Reiko.

"Still, it may be possible that we simply haven't met the strong beings in this world, so we shouldn't let our guard down." said Takehara. "Anyway, it seems that the World Items still work. The cauldron can produce the same items it could in YDDGRASIL, so we won't be hurting for items anytime soon. The Yata Mirror also can still reflect magic, although I only tested a few spells, but there's something that you tow should know now. Friendly fire is active."

"Huh?" said Saito.

"Yeah, I found that out by accident. I was testing the Yata Mirror and hit myself with my own spell. Luckily it was just a basic [Magic Arrow] I tested first, otherwise I might've been in serious trouble." said Takehara.

"Are you sure it wasn't the effect of the mirror?" asked Reiko.

The Yata Mirror could reflect anything, even the effects of other world items. Of course, it was impossible for world items to affect holders of world items, so the mirror couldn't reflect the effect back to the original user, but it could hit a third party. To make this work, whenever a spell or ability hit the Yata Mirror and reflected off of it, the mirror would set the controller of the spell or ability to the owner of the mirror. For example, if a mind control spell such as [Charm] was bounced off the mirror and hit its user, the owner of the mirror would be in control of the charm spell, not the original caster.

"I'm sure. After it happened, I did some tests with the guards and some low level AOE spells. Even though they were my allies, the guards were hit by the spell." said Takehara.

"Well, that could be troublesome." said Saito.

"Yes, we'll have to be careful from now on." said Takehara.

"Alright, so what's our next move?" asked Reiko.

"Honestly, for now we still need more information. Once we know where we stand, then we can decide what to do." said Takehara.

"Sounds like a good idea. Although eventually we'll have to come up with a policy on the natives here. Should we brainstom a little?" asked Saito.

"Sure, why not. Assuming the natives are sentient and peaceful, I think we should just stay out of local affairs as much as we can. Maybe intervene on a case by case basis." said Reiko.

"That might work for the short term, but eventually we'll have to interact with the natives on a consistent basis. We can't hide forever nor should we try. Whether we like it or not, our mere presence here will affect this world. The only question is how much and in what manner." stated Takehara.

"What do you mean?"? asked Reiko.

"Well, regardless of the relative strength and attitude between us and those of this world, our mere presence here changes things. Factors such as the relative difference in our power and how much we interact with this world will determine how severe the world is affected by us and our decisions on issues will determine if given groups and individuals will be positively or negatively affected, at least that's how I see it. For example, assuming we are significantly stronger than the average forces in this world, our will have a major impact. Even if we try to limit our contact with the locals, its possible that various factions would seek us out or possibly provoke a conflict between us and their enemies. Even if we're weaker than average here, those scenarios are possible, albeit not as likely." stated Takehara.

"Is that so?" asked Saito, getting the general idea of what Takehara said, but not fully understanding it. "I guess that makes sense, but why can't we simply leave this world alone. I personally think we should interact, but why is isolation not an option?"

"Well, first of all, it's impossible for use." replied Takehara. "Our two main options for isolation are preventing knowlege about us from spreading or decalring neutrality in all matters. The first option is impracticable as eventually knowledge would spread. We simply don't have enough magic casters to hide Starcloak Cape and tactics such as imprisoning or killing any witnesses will eventually draw attention. Convincing the witesses to stay silent is also impracticable as if even one of them were to talk the secret would be out. As for adopting a policy of neutrality, it would be possible to create a situation where we would be forced to take defensive action. We would essentially allow ourselves to be a pawn in someone's scheme. Therefore it is best if we interact with the locals on our terms. Besides, it would be a waste not to explore this unknown world."

"That makes sense. So, are we all in agreement?" asked Reiko.

"Seems like it." states Saito.

"Alright, that settles that issue, we can work out the details later. This does raise some interesting issues, both externally like the existence of other people, and internal such as the ability of our NPCs to think and take initiative. We'll need to investigate this further later. Anyway, are there any other issues to discuss?" asked Takehara.

"Actually, yeah." said Satio. "I mentioned before that the knight's gear was garbage, so I don't think meeting them in our main equipment is a good idea. It might scare or intimidate them too badly. I was thinking that we should have some low level items made, possibly in the 15 to 20 level range, possibly a bit higher, for when we contact them. That would be clearly better than what they're using, but hopefully not enough to scare them. Just to be safe, we should use quick-change crystals in them and carry our main gear in case things get dangerous."

There were several custom NPC crafters in Starcloak Cape that could make such items. Naturally, they wouldn't be as powerful as items made by the main crafters of the Celestial Wardens, but it would do for now.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea." said Takehara. "We should make at least one set for each of us and our main forces that we might send out. So that would be three for us, 10 for the level 100 NPCs and 12 for the golems. Perhaps a few extra just in case. It's not like we'll run short on materials."

"Ah, actually, I think we should leave the golems as the last line of defense for the base. Taking them out is a bad idea." said Saito.

"Why, what's wrong with them?" asked Reiko.

"They're really creepy, like scary creepy. I don't know how to explain it, you need to experience it yourself. I could barely stand next to one for some reason." said Saito.

"Huh, well, while I am a bit skeptical of that I'll trust in your judgment for now, Saito. It doesn't really matter anyway, if necessary we can use a spare set for them." said Takehara.

"Fine by me, but know that I won't be taking them out." said Satio.

"Alright then, anything else?" asked Takehara.

After the other two shook their heads, Takehara continued. "OK, In that case, I'll pass along the orders to make the new gear and continue the experiments with our items. I also want to check a few things while I'm at it. Reiko, you keep investigating the base and NPCs while Saito prepares for first contact. Saito, I'll trust you to make a good impression, but remember not to go overboard. Is that OK with the two of you."

Both Saito and Reiko nodded.

"Alright, then let's get to it. We'll meet back here in about an hour " Takehara said.

Takehara teleported out of the room. Reiko looked at Saito and spoke.

"Try not to teleport into any walls now"

With that jab, Reiko teleported out of the room as well.

"Smartass" Saito uttered under his breath. He knew he had to tell the others about his teleportation accident for safety, and he knew it was likely they would mock him for it, but it still bothered him a little.

Saito disappeared as well, teleporting to his own destination.


	6. Chapter 6

**Well, I'm back from my unscheduled hiatus. I don't know why, but I just couldn't write anything for the last month or so. Again, I make no promises on how often I update.**

XXX

"Unfricking believable"

Takehara muttered under his breath as he shut a book and placed it back on the shelf. After hearing that Sara had summoned some elven scouts, Takehara had decided to order an inventory done of their resources. Of particular note was the items in the library. The Celestial Wardens had a huge amount of mercenary monster data stored there. Currently, they only had enough gold to use a small fraction of it, but with the Cauldron of Abundance and an exchange box, they could create gold. Given enough time, they would eventually have enough to use all of the data.

However, that was not what was bothering Takehara right now.

While in the library, he decided to browse through the books to do a quick spot check of what they had. Everything was fine until he reached the uploaded books. Takehara knew that the members of the Celestial Wardens had uploaded a vast library of information to their guildbase. The text data was comparatively very small and didn't affect the guild adversely. Takehara knew for a fact that they had many digital documents including the entire Project Gutenberg library stored here less than a year before the server shut down.

However, now this section of the library was filled with various types of manga and comics.

"Dammit, WhiteSwordLight, I know it was you! Why in the name of all that is good did you have to do this? And you even chose pictures!" muttered Takehara.

There is a saying that a picture is worth a thousand words, but in this case it could be even more. Depending on the quality of the picture, it can take an amount of data that could otherwise hold a large number of words. The library had a finite amount of data for uploaded material, so once that limit was hit, things had to be deleted to add new content.

'I know he couldn't have known this would happen, but I still wish he didn't delete all that information.' thought Takehara. 'Things would be so much easier with all that information, but no, he just had to upload his "personal image collection". I can't believe what he managed to slip past the censors. In any other situation I would find this impressive and hilarious.'

Takehara shook his head. There was nothing that could be done about it now. As he highly doubted that WhiteSwordLight could have reasonably predicted this situation, he really couldn't blame him.

Feeling a bit disappointed, Takehara gathered what he needed from the library and went to continue his task.

XXX

Saito looked at the six level 100 NPCs in front of him.

The first was Morg, an ancient mountain troll with a juggernaut build wielding a large club. He was built to have a huge amount of HP and soak up damage.

The second was Alex, a male human guardian with a fortress build, wielding a one handed sword and a large shield.

The third was Darius, a male dwarf dark knight with a armored bruiser build, wielding a two handed sword.

The fourth was Vash, a male human monk with a elemental fist build. He wielded metal claws attached to his fists and had high natural elemental defenses.

The fifth was Tess, a female human mage with an elementalist build, specializing in elemental damage. She wielded a golden staff with a blue crystal.

The sixth was Jaina, a female elf assassin with a shadowblade build. She had a pair of short swords.

These six NPCs were the main line of defense for Starcloak Cape. Any intruders would have to fight them to proceed deeper into the base. This was made more difficult by the fact that they were supported by eight healers and four attackers that could operate from a safe zone that could only be accessed once the six defenders fell. All in all, this was an efficient defense line. Starcloak Cape did have several other defenders, but these were mainly mercenary monster summons or rare super golems.

Saito had interacted with these six for over half an hour by now. He now knew several things about them.

All six of them were currently equipped in powerful divine class equipment made by the Celestial Wardens. Outfitting them in this equipment would have been prohibitively expensive if not for the Cauldron of Abundance. All of them were exceptionally skilled, somehow knowing how to use their abilities effectively, albeit not creatively. All of them were completely loyal to him and the other guildmembers.

All of them were also complete nerds.

"I will gladly obey any order you give, lord Saito, but I feel that I must inform you that your proposed action violates the prime directive." stated Tess.

"OK, first of all, Tess, the Prime Directive does not apply to us, and second, even if it did it's not feasible to enforce it." Saito said as he facepalmed.

"Don't worry, guys, I'm sure it will all work out. We must believe in ourselves. Our emotions will power our magic and courage will guide our blades." stated Vash.

'I'm not really looking to start a fight yet, gotta watch these guys for now' thought Saito.

"Eh, either way the lords gave me a purpose and power. I'll do whatever they order me to, man. After all, I believe in them and they believe in me." said Morg as he bashed his chest.

"Alright, then. I've already told you the plan. Since we're meeting humans, I figure I'd be best if our party is only comprised of humans, at least for now. So, I'll take Tess and Vash with me, along with Cana from the healing squad on this mission. The rest of you, continue defending this area. I've already asked Sara to assign shifts for you to keep watch. The first set of new gear should be ready by now, so we'll grab that and I'll have a quick meeting with the guild members before we head out. This mission could take anywhere from several hours to a few weeks, so be prepared." stated Saito.

The three remaining members of Celestial Wardens had realized that their new living NPCs might have needs that did not exist in YDDGRASIL. Fortunately there were many facilities in Starcloak cape such as bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens. Surprisingly, even though they were once only background images, they somehow all worked now.

"Very well, we shall wish all of you a safe journey. May the brilliance of your souls guide your path." stated Jaina.

"Thank you for your wishes. Until we meet again." replied Tess.

"And may the force be with you." said Alex.

Saito found it harder than he anticipated to keep a straight face.

XXX

"AHAHAHA, did he really say that!" laughed Reiko.

"Yes, yes he did. I'm surprised you get the reference." answered Saito.

"Ha, yeah, I know some of the classics. My dad was a big fan and we watched a few series together before he died, those were good memories." said Reiko.

"So, how did it go for you?" asked Saito.

"Not much to report. The crafters are working on the weak contact gear for now and have the first batch out. We have enough food coming in from the upper garden and central aquaculture zone to sustain us. There's fungi from the lower mines as well, but not nearly as much as the other production zones. Speaking of the lower mines, I talked to a few of the NPCs and it seems some of them with certain classes such as geomancer and mineral worker are not only able to harvest the mines, but also somehow replenish them. I have no idea how that works though." said Reiko.

Starcloak cape had many mercenary monster NPCs in it, but not all of them were in combat roles. There were mercenary NPCs that performed certain tasks. Some of these actually worked to reduce upkeep costs in YDDGRASIL, but most of them were effectively role-play NPCs. However, with the transition to the new world, some of these mercenary NPCs actually contributed to the base.

"Well, I got some bad news and some worse news. Which one would you lie to hear first?" asked Takehara.

"Wait, shouldn't it be good news and bad news?" mentioned Saito.

"Sorry, I'm all out of good news." said Takehara.

"Well, lets hear the bad news first." said Reiko.

"Well, it seems that we blew almost all of our funds in that last party before the shutdown. Our treasury is at less than 2 percent full and most of that is equipment. That said, this wasn't completely unexpected and all of the guilds spare powerful gear is still in the treasure vaults. Fortunately, with the cauldron and exchange box, we can generate more gold and materials over time, so this isn't a problem in the long term." said Takehara.

"Well, at least we won't be hurting for money." said Satio.

"That's assuming that the items the cauldron produces has value here. It's a reasonable assumption, but I'd prefer confirmation." pointed out Takehara.

"Alright, that's not a big issue, what's the other thing, Take?" asked Reiko.

"Well, I checked the library and it seems that someone, likely WhiteSwordLight, decided to upload a huge amount of data to our library. Unfortunately, in order to do so, several things had to be deleted. We did have several libraries worth of books, which would have been quite useful now, but they're gone now." said Takehara.

"Well, that's unfortunate. Did we lose all of it?" asked Reiko.

"Eh, I'm not sure. There might be some books left, but I don't know how much. I'll need to check more thoroughly later. Anyway, they're isn't much we can do about someone uploading their personal collection to our library, so we'll have to plan around it." said Takehara.

'Note to self: check library later' thought Saito.

"Anyway, that's about everything important I learned. does anyone else have anything to add?" asked Takehara.

Both Reiko and Saito shook their heads.

"Alright, then good luck out there, Saito. Don't forget to check in with us twice each day." said Takehara.

With that, the three players left the conference room. Takehara and Reiko went deeper into the base and Saito met with his team before embarking on a new mission.

XXX

 **I don't know why, but I just had to put the force line in there. I honestly had a hard time choosing that and 'may the shwartz be with you'.**

 **Also, before you can ask about it, PervySageChuck, yes, the image collection is what you think it is. Probably, I can't read minds, but I can guess.**


	7. Chapter 7

Darius stretched his short limbs as far as they would go as he took off his heavy armor.

The high lords had arranged for the main defenders to operate in 3 different shifts each day. This gave them each an eight hour watch duty before being given the rest of the day off to relax. There was a 15 minute overlap time to allow the main entrance to be constantly guarded during shift change. Naturally, should the base come under attack, all of the defenders would be required to rally regardless of what they were doing.

Dairus and the other guardians wore items that greatly reduced the need for biological needs such as sleep, so they had almost the entire 15 and a half hours free.

Currently, Darius had just gotten off of his watch shift. He had been assigned the first shift, Morg and Jaina were given the second shift, and Alex had the last shift. Three of the super golems had been reassigned to the defense lines as well. These golems did not get tired and were ordered to follow the instructions of the defenders.

With nothing important to do, Darius was relaxing in the upper garden. He idly watched several forest spirits tend the garden as he sat on one of the many benches here, his armor to the side. Right now, only a few of the fruit trees were being harvested. Most of the fauna here had consistent bio-cycles and it just happened that most of them were not producing at this time. Eventually, things would get busy here, but right now the plants needed to grow.

"Feels like everything is going slow these days" muttered Darius.

A few seconds later, he called out. "What do you want, Alex?"

"Oh, I didn't expect you to notice me here." replied a voice behind Darius.

"Of course I notice you. That armor of yours isn't exactly what I'd call silent." retorted Darius

"Oh, I thought your senses would be dulled here. After all, this is a place brimming with positive energy." said Ales.

"That's just a myth, you know. Besides, even if it were true, my dark affinity isn't that strong." replied Daruis.

Although Darius had a dark knight class, he was more focused on the knight part than the dark part. In fact, Darius had a positive karma value, if only barely.

"Eh, not like it'd affect you either way, your equipment is too good for that. Anyway, want a drink? I picked up some pineapple juice from storage." Alex said as he offered Darius a cup.

"No thanks, I prefer Dk. Pepper. It's the intellectual drink for the chosen ones." replied Darius.

"Well, I got some bad news for you then. The lords recently had a large party and consumed most of the food and drink in the base. I don't think there is any Dk. Pepper, or any other soda for that matter, left. If I could I'd be drinking cola right now. Strange that most of the juices were still there though." said Alex.

"That's fine, I can wait a few weeks, not like I need to drink much. If it comes to it, I'll just drink water. Anyway, why are you here, Alex?" asked Darius.

"Eh, no reason, just wanted to take a stroll here. Since you're here though, what do you think of this situation?" asked Alex.

"What situation?" asked Darius.

"This new world, what do you think will happen?" clarified Ales.

"Eh, not my job to think. The lords seem to have it under control, so I'll just follow their lead. Isn't that what we've always done?" replied Darius.

"I guess that's fair. What do you think about what lady Reiko said about the lords wanting us to follow of our own will though?" said Ales.

"Again, above my pay grade." said Darius.

"Alright, whatever you say. Enjoy your day." said Alex.

Darius watched as Alex walked away, sitting completely still. With nothing to do, he let his mind wander.

'of our own will'

For some reason, Darius kept coming back to that question. He had no idea what it meant but it seemed like a weird thing for lady Reiko to mention. All of the servants in Starcloak cape revered the lords, so it was natural to want to follow them.

Sighing, Darius got up from the seat and put his armor back on. For some reason, he felt thirsty. Perhaps he should give that pineapple juice a try.

XXX

Captian Gareth Longsplit prepared to ride to the next village on his patrol. After the unfortunate encounter at the destroyed village, the next two villages had been thankfully unharmed. However, he had to patrol the entire area and couldn't stay at a single village. As much as it bothered him, these villages would be in danger as long as an outlaw force remained in the area.

'Not like we're going to be able to do anything about it' thought Captian Longsplit.

Captain Longsplit knew they were just treating the symptom, not the cause. The recent economic downturn from the new king's policies had driven people to desperation. As long as that remained unchanged, new bandit groups would keep popping up. On a certain level, captain Longsplit sympathized with them, but he had to do his duty. Sometimes, good people had to be sacrificed to save others.

Captain Longsplit sighed in resignation as he left the village and continued on his patrol. He and his riders kept a steady brisk pace. About twenty minutes from the next village, Captain Longsplit noticed several figures on the path ahead of him. As he got closer, he oould see that there were four people.

The first one in the lead wore plate armor that looked to be made of either silver or mithril. He was covered in armor and carried a large shield and long sword. He wore a helmet that covered most of his head.

The second person wore loose fitting robes that seemed to be of high quality. He didn't wear a helmet, but Gareth could see something, possibly a headband, around his black hair. He wore some kind of armored gauntlet that Gareth could not identify but carried no visible weapons.

The third figure was a female also wearing expensive looking robes. Like the second man, she had black hair but instead of a headband, she wore some kind of metal circlet like a crown. For some reason, she was carrying a book and was unarmed.

The last figure was also a female in robes, but this time there were metal plates on it. Gareth had never seen this type of armor before and had no idea how effective it would be. She had long blonde hair and carried a metal staff. She looked like a typical magic caster.

As Gareth and his men approached this group, he wondered who they were and what they were doing here. Given their appearance, they appeared to be adventurers. Gareth idly noted that their equipment seemed to be of somewhat high quality. He had certainly seen much better equipment, but their gear was clearly above average.

Gareth slowed down his horse and cautiously approached the group, Once he was about twenty meters away, the lead warrior turned to face him and spoke.

"Hello, good day to you sir."

Gareth stared at the man for a moment before answering.

"Hello to you as well. I am Captain Gareth Longsplit of the Re-Estize knights. Who might you be?"

"Oh, just a traveler, you may address me as Saito." replied the warrior.

'Saito, what a weird name' thought Gareth.

"Pardon me, knight captain, but are you headed to that nearby village as well? If so, would you mind accompanying us as we travel? I believe it would be safer for us in a larger group, and I would certainly appreciate the conversation. My current companions don't like to talk much, you see." said Saito.

'Huh, normally I would refuse, but it's not that far to the next town. Our horses could use a break as well' thought Gareth.

"Very well, it is the duty of the Re-Estize knights to guard travelers in the Kingdom." stated Gareth. "By the way, are you adventurers?"

"Well, we do a lot of adventuring, so I believe you may call us that" stated Saito.

"NO, I mean are you registered with the adventurers guild?' asked Gareth.

"Ah, as far as I'm aware, we are not registered with any guild. We have traveled from far away to this land and we are unfamiliar with the customs here. Perhaps we should discuss this as we travel?" said Saito.

"Very well then" answered Gareth.

Although Gareth found it odd that these travelers did not know of an organization as important as the adventurer's guild, he let it slide. Gareth had always trusted his instincts and right now he did not feel any danger coming from these people. While he didn't let his guard down, he did talk quite a bit with their apparent leader, Saito.

XXX

'Well, this is certainly informative. I'm glad I didn't delegate this task to one of the NPC's' thought Saito.

The knight he had encountered had bought his story and talked a great amount. Saito was able to get a lot of information from the conversation.

It had been risky making direct contact, but it had to happen sooner or later. By posing as travelers and meeting the knights, they had managed to gain more insight about the world.

From what Saito understood, this world had a technology level around the medieval ages, but a higher standard of living than that time thanks to magic. Many races existed in this world and humanity was not on the top of the food chain, but managed to form several nations. From what Saito understood, demihumans had superior physical stats that allowed them to compete with human civilization.

Saito found it odd that demihumans were so much stronger than humans here, but he came up with a working theory. Saito hypothesized that the natives of this world had the equivalent of levels just like those from YDDGRASIL. However, they didn't gain them by fighting enemies or completing quests. Instead racial levels were gained as one grew and job levels were gained as one trained. Since humanoids did not have racial levels, they did not naturally grow stronger over time while demihumans and heteromorphs did. Thus, the non-humanoids had a natural advantage.

Of course, this was all merely a theory. Saito also didn't know if there was a level cap here, but he hadn't seen anyone over level 25 yet.

"Don't worry, lord Saito, I will defend you with my life. I'm all fired up!" said Vash as he clenched his fist.

"SHHHH!" hissed Saito, worried that the knights would take this as a sign of aggression. Fortunately, it seemed that no one noticed.

Saito mentally sighed. He realized that he had been making a strange face earlier and that Vash had taken that as a sign of distress, so this was partially his fault. Still, he wished that his subordinates could understand the need to stay undercover for now.

The rest of the journey to the village was uneventful, with Saito, Captain Longsplit, and his lieutenant discussing several things. Once they arrived at the village, they were offered shelter there and stayed the night.

However, once the knights woke up the next morning, the four travelers that they had escorted were nowhere to be found.

XXX

 **Again, I make no promises for my release schedule.**

 **Also, I did make a few references in this story. Sadly, there is no prize for guessing them other than personal satisfaction.**


	8. Chapter 8

Captain Longsplit was mildly surprised that the four travelers had disappeared during the night, but he didn't worry about it too much. They had mentioned that they planned to leave early and he was not obligated to observe them, so he didn't pay it much mind. He learned from the village elder that no one had seen them leave, but they had told everyone they would leave early. As long as they had left of their own volition, then there was no problem. He was not their keeper and he had his own mission. Although he was a bit curios about them, he didn't have time to spare worrying about them.

He had people to protect.

XXX

Saito and his group teleported directly into the entrance hall of Starcloak Cape. Due to the need to allow people in but at the same time secure the base, the guild had disabled the protective wards in the entrance hall, thus allowing teleportation to one entrance but safeguarding the rest of the base.

Saito put away his greater teleportation charm. Spell charms were usable only in non-combat situations and had a limited use per day, so they were not very popular in YDDGRASIL, but for non-caster classes, they were one of the few ways to use magic.

After ordering his team to take a break, Saito contacted Takehara with [Message]

"Yo, Take, I'm back with some information. Where are you?" asked Saito.

[Back already? That was fast. I'm in the cafeteria, man I gotta say the food here is excellent.] replied Takehara through the message spell.

"Yeah, I found those knights I mentioned earlier, and they were kind enough to give me a lot of information. Could you contact Reiko and have her meet us in the conference room in about half an hour?" asked Saito.

[Sure, no problem. Hey, you didn't do anything that could hurt us later like torturing those knights, did you?] said Takehara.

"No, don't worry, I got everything through conversation." replied Saito.

[Alright, just being sure. See you in the conference room.] replied Takehara before he cut the [message].

Saito walked through a few doors before recovering his guild ring from one of the guards that he left it with earlier. Equipping and activating the ring, he went to his room to clean up before the meeting.

XXX

"I see, so they seem to be at medieval level, but thanks to magic they have a higher standard of living?" stated Takehara.

"That's what I gathered." replied Satio.

"This is truly interesting. I do believe that many scholars back home would like to study the effects magic would have on society, but this is just academic for now. Did you get anything else?" asked Takehara.

"Yeah, apparently we're on the border of the Re-Estize kingdom, basically a poor area that hasn't been developed yet. Supposedly, the previous King wanted to develop this area later, but he died a few years ago. From what I hear, the new King isn't a good ruler. That Longsplit guy mentioned they had 8 knight squads but it's been cut to 6 now and all of them have shrunk in size. The people are getting poorer and lawlessness is on the rise." replied Saito.

"So, the Kingdom is in poor shape then. Is it likely to collapse soon?" asked Reiko.

"Not likely, as luck would have it, the country is geographically secure and neighboring countries are either isolationist or too weak to intervene." replied Satio.

"Anything else?" asked Takehara.

"No, that pretty much covers it. I did slip away during the night, but it shouldn't be a problem since I told everyone I was leaving early." said Saito.

"Very well, onto other business, it seems that we are in a better position that I feared. I have good news everyone." said Takehara.

"I don't like the sound of that" interrupted Saito as Takehara glared at him.

"Well, last night I, along with some assistants, did a thorough inventory of the library, and we discovered that not all of the libraries were deleted by our comrades. Most of it is gone, but we do have some stuff including part of the Project Gutenberg library available to us, although I haven't verified exactly which parts yet. Also, our mercenary monster data is more than we anticipated." said Takehara.

"Well, that is actually good news." said Satio.

"Alright, on to other business" said Reiko. "I talked to most of the NPCs, or should I say former NPCs now, and they all seem to be blindly loyal to us. As much as this makes things easier, I don't think we should just take advantage of them. We need to discuss this thoroughly, but I propose that we let them serve us as long as they want to."

"Oh boy" muttered Saito, feeling a headache coming on.

XXX

As Saito predicted, several difficult topics were debated in the meeting. However, after many hours of civilized discussion, debates, and eventually yelling, all three players decided to take a break and come back at the problem with fresh minds. After this repeated a few times, the remaining members of the Celestial Wardens managed to come to an agreement on their way forward.

First, the now sentient NPCs would be informed that they were free to do whatever they wanted to do within reason so long as it didn't negatively affect the guild and could leave, but the guild members would appreciate it if they stayed with the guild. Naturally, all of the NPCs remained loyal and none left.

Second, the Celestial Wardens would contact the surrounding countries and do what the could to help them within reason, but would prioritize their own well being.

Third, the natives of this world would be treated as any other person. At the moment, there was no reason to engage in hostilities, but the Wardens would defend themselves if necessary and would act aggressively if the situation called for it.

Fourth, if anyone asked where the wardens and Starcloak cape came from, they would honestly answer that they were from a different place and did not know how they got here. They would give out vague details of YDDGRASIL but not mention their own world unless they met someone from it.

Fifth, while they would trade certain items with the locals, all of their powerful equipment and items would not be given to outsiders, for obvious reasons.

Sixth, the wardens would claim the land that their base was on and some of the immediate area, and attempt to negotiate for further areas. If possible they would do so peacefully, but if necessary, they would use force.

Several other issues were decided, but these were the main points.

With their plan set, the wardens made preparations to contact their new neighbors. Two weeks after Saito's meeting with the knights, the wardens were ready to contact the Re-Estize Kingdom.

XXX

 **A/N**

 **Hey, just to let you guys know, I'm having difficulty writing right now, so don't expect new chapters anytime soon. This happens to me every once in a while, so it's nothing to worry about.**


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